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This will be the first Super Bowl in a cold-weather city with a dome-less stadium. The NFL has a private firm monitoring weather forecasts 30 to 40 times a day, and its senior-staff meetings now begin with meteorological briefings. Insurance firms are offering New York City businesses a chance to buy policies that protect them in case snow deters customers. And companies are pushing all sorts of chill-busting gizmos, such as electric hand warmers, to stay warm.

The prospect of a blizzard-swept contest has sparked thrill among the event's organizers and business interests, who are hoping for a memorably picturesque—and profitable—contest. NFL officials have called the idea of snow "romantic," "exciting" and a "rite of passage." They also say a snow-blanketed game would make for beautiful television.

But for attendees figuring out how to stave off hypothermia, reactions lean more toward dread and mild panic.

Jay Cicero,
president of the committee that organizes the Super Bowl when it takes place in New Orleans, said he plans to stay in Times Square and travel as little as possible during the week. Corporate party planners say the first demand their clients make is to stay warm.

Fans in frigid football cities have some good-humored advice for these people: Chill out.

"It is kind of entertaining listening to all the discussion about 'Oh no, it's going to be cold. It's going to be snowy,'" said
Kyle Kawanami,
a Canadian Football League fan in Edmonton, Alberta. "Of course it's going to be snowy and cold. You're almost missing out if there's going to be a dome."

"It seems like much ado about nothing," he added. "You just have to prepare."

Ryan Hornung,
28 years old, attended one of the coldest games in NFL history—the NFC championship in 2008, played in Green Bay, Wis. Mr. Hornung (no relation to Hall of Famer Paul Hornung) wore two pairs of thermals, jeans, snow pants over the jeans, three pairs of socks and foot warmers in his boots.

"If you're a true Packers fan, you aren't worried about the weather," he said.

ENLARGE

MetLife Stadium is making preparations to help fans deal with the cold.
Getty Images

The Forecast

Friday

High 31, Low 20

Possible snow, wind gusts up to 28 mph

Saturday

High 33, Low 30

Sunny, wind gusts up to 27 mph

Sunday

High 36, Low 26

Possible snow, wind gusts up to 26 mph

Looking Long-Term | Gusty, Chance of Snow

--Source: AccuWeather

Around the stadium, smarter fans were standing on house siding and insulation to protect their feet from the unforgiving concrete of Lambeau Field's bleachers. Mr. Hornung didn't know that trick.

"Your extremities start to lose a lot of blood flow. As I was walking out, the blood flow back into my feet was extremely painful," he said.

Ajoy Sarkar,
a Fashion Institute of Technology professor of textile development, said wearing three layers is key. The first layer should be an undershirt made of sweat-wicking synthetic fibers. The second layer should be nylon, polyester, acrylic or wool, to trap air and keep the body warm. The last layer should be a heavy jacket that can keep out water and wind. In addition, hats and gloves are a must.

If it is below freezing, Mr. Sarkar recommends mittens over gloves, and boots rather than sneakers. Fans should also consider two layers of gloves and socks in freezing conditions.

Many fans turn to alcohol to stay warm. Some Canadian fans carry Bailey's in their coffee, while most other cold-weather fans chug beers in the parking lots. In Green Bay, Mr. Hornung said he tried to crack open a beer, which froze within seconds. Instead, his group drank a thermos of martinis. They hoped the drinking would warm them, but that day nothing would work.

Drinking in freezing temperatures can be dangerous, too.
Dr. David Claypool
of the Mayo Clinic said that while drinking can make people feel warmer, it can actually lead to a decrease in body temperature and, in extreme cases, hypothermia.

The NFL plans to start the Super Bowl at 6:30 p.m. next Sunday, barring "the combination of a polar vortex, snowmageddon and sharknado," said league spokesman
Brian McCarthy.

Fans in attendance will receive a "warm-weather" kit that includes, among other items, "text-friendly" gloves, hand warmers, ear muffs, a ski gator and a waist-mounted hand muffler. League Commissioner
Roger Goodell
said he planned to sit outside during the game.

Mr. Kawanami, the Canadian fan, said fans should embrace the cold—but with a bit of restraint.

"At Canadian football games, you'll see the crazies. They'll have their shirt off. They'll be painted. You'll see a streaker," he said. "I'm hard-core, but I'm not going to do something like that."

The Packers contingent isn't sure how deep the dedication will run. Mr. Hornung recently attended an NFL game in Chicago with a corporate bigwig, as part of his job in the alcohol industry. "The guy flew in from Miami with snakeskin boots," he said. "It wasn't the coldest game on record by any stretch of the imagination, but he left in the third quarter."

When I was a kid we would watch the Vikings play outside at the Met. Bud Grant didn't let his players use heaters on the sidelines and those teams were tough. The current emphasis on domed stadiums including the Vikqueens' future retractable roof stadium is an embarrassment to the state. Go Pack!

Here is Cleveland, we may not be able to field a good team, but we can field REAL football weather. We built the stadium with notches cut into the corners so the wind will whip off the lake right through the field. On a truly awesome football day the beer will freeze in your cup. We are just waiting when some fair weather team like the Texans or the Chargers play the Browns in late December. It will be fun to watch those overly pampered sun worshipers bow down before the sideline heater like it's their new god. Their kicker will try to figure out why at zero degrees the football feels like they are kicking a brick. Quarterbacks will marvel that the weird wind current can flip their passes into the hands of a started head coach. And, this being Cleveland, there will be at least one clown in the Dog Pound who be shirtless and in shorts for the entire game while yelling abuse at the visiting team.

Of course, the Browns will lose anyway, but it will be quite an experience. a REAL football experience.

If this Super Bowl has weather anything like what is currently predicted; you can count on at least another decade of Super Bowls in warm weather locations and indoor stadiums. This version will become known as "Roger's Folly'!

The Detroit Lions have a huge natural advantage in late-season home games against cold weather opponents. Since 1975, they have neutralized that advantage by playing inside. The Lions have foundered badly since Wm. Clay Ford bought the team with his inherited money in 1963.

I grew up in Pittsburgh, and moved to Houston in the 70s. It gets a little 'tropical' here in the summer, but I simply can't take going back to the snow belt. I've never been to a Superbowl, but if tickets were offered to me for this one, I'm about 95% sure I would not take them.

I'll be watching from my living room. I'm rooting for Denver only because of Manning.

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